BadCredit.org's popular "How-To" series is for those who seek to improve, rebuild or better understand their subprime credit rating.

Building credit takes patience, diligence, and time. It’s easy to get tripped up by a few small missteps (like late payments), but it’s even worse when the mistakes hurting your credit score aren’t even yours.

When there’s an error on your credit report, you’re lugging around someone else’s blunder as you try to get a loan or a line or credit. And that’s just unfair.

Righting this wrong is pretty fast and painless through Equifax. The credit bureau diligently investigates all claims to ensure that every credit report is error-free. Whether it’s online or through a third party, you have many options to dispute errors to Equifax and make your credit report an accurate reflection of your credit history.

We’ll take you through three do-it-yourself methods available at Equifax — online, by mail, or by phone — or you can use a professional service to dispute a credit report error. To jump ahead to the section most helpful to your needs, use these links:

1. Report An Error to Equifax Online in a Simple Form

The form requires information from your Equifax Credit File, including your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and address.

On Equifax’s website, disputing a credit error is as easy as filling out a single form online.

You’ll also need your 10-digit confirmation number for your file. This can be found on your copy of your Equifax Credit File. Once you input all required fields, confirm that the information is correct and then click “Submit.” A receipt arrive in an email, and Equifax will handle it from there.

2. Mail a Letter to Equifax’s Dispute Mailing Address

If computers aren’t your forte, you can always use traditional mail to submit a dispute to Equifax. Simply print out a Research Request Form from the Equifax website. Fill it out, making sure to check the reason for investigation (“not mine,” “paid in full,” “current/previous status incorrect,” or “account closed”), and then mail it to this address:

Equifax Information Services, LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374

Equifax will respond within 30 to 45 days of receipt. This method isn’t the speediest, but it gets the job done.

3. Call the Equifax Dispute Phone Number

To speak directly with a live person, call the Equifax Dispute phone number and state your case about any inaccuracies found on your credit report.

866-349-5191

You can call this number to initiate a dispute, and a customer service agent will log the information for you on the spot.

Consider Placing a Security Freeze on Your Credit File

A security freeze temporarily stops your credit report from reaching any third party, so no one will see the mistake and penalize you for something that isn’t your fault. This isn’t a necessary step, but it can be a helpful precaution if you’re worried about further damage befalling your finances. You have the right to a voluntary credit freeze from Equifax; however, while the freeze is in place, your credit report will basically be on hold.

You can place a security freeze at Equifax three ways: online (click here to get started), by phone (1-800-349-1111), or in writing at the following address:

Equifax Security Freeze P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, Georgia 30348

If you choose to mail in your request, you must include your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, proof of identification, and payment of any applicable fees. The fees differ depending on your state’s laws, so Equifax keeps a handy chart of fees and requirements for easy reference.

Check Your Credit Dispute Status Online

Enter your 10-digit confirmation number to check the status of your dispute online.

After you’ve submitted your dispute, it’s a waiting game to hear back. It typically takes 30 to 45 days for Equifax to investigate the validity of your claim and correct any errors. You’ll be promptly notified by mail of any updates or corrections to your credit file.

Bonus: Credit Repair Services Can Handle Disputes For You

If you don’t have time to deal with credit errors, you can always hire professionals to take care of it on your behalf. To get your credit report patched up without any hassle, use a reliable credit repair service like Lexington Law.

4.5

Credit repair services relieve consumers of the stress of navigating a bureau’s arcane rules and regulations alone. Lexington Law even offers a free consultation so you can call them at 1-844-259-3478 and see if this service is right for you.

An Easy Fix — Set the Facts Straight on Your Credit Report

Once free of the burden of credit errors, you can focus on getting your credit score back on track. No one should be weighed down by someone else’s mistakes, so bring your dispute to Equifax using an online form, dispute phone line, mailing address, or third-party assistance.

A dispute can be submitted a variety of ways so that fixing inaccuracies on a credit report is quick and stress-free. Plus you can always enlist one of these top-rated credit repair services to step in to take care of it for you. However you decide to handle the dispute process, it shouldn’t be very long before your Equifax credit report is back to where it should be — error free. Good luck!

Amber Brooks is a Contributing Editor at Digital Brands. She spends her days consulting with financial experts to bring readers the best recommendations and tips on the web. She's interviewed financial leaders from all around the world. With a background in writing, she's uniquely suited to diluting complex financial jargon into terms that are easily understood. When not obsessively budgeting out her days, Amber can often be found with her nose in a book.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information, however all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on an offer you will be directed to the credit card issuer’s web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your offer.

Advertiser Disclosure: BadCredit.org is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation from many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). BadCredit.org does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.